Monday, September 1, 2014

Hong Kong Street Chun Kee : The Battle at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4

If you stay in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 then you might have noticed that the Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at the same coffee shop is not the original one but a new owner that just moved in though shared the same name. You might be wondering where is the other Hong Kong Street Chun Kee? they have moved to another coffee shop just a couple of blocks away and still using the same name for their coffee shop.

This happened without the knowledge of the new owner that recently took over the coffee shop which happened to be another disciple of the founder of Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at Bukit Merah. Their business was rather slow when they just started but gradually improved and even have their supporters now.

I decided to visit both and tried exactly the same dishes to find out who does it best. Their signature dishes are San Lou Horfun, Fish Meat / Fish Head Bee Hoon and the Prawn Paste Chicken.

We ordered the smallest portion of San Lou Horfun at $6. Though the wok taste might not be quite distinctive but the texture of horfun was smooth and flavorful with a generous bit of beansprouts and good portion of fresh tasting fish slices.

The texture of the horfun has got a good bite and smooth with a slight wok taste.

The Fish Meat Bee Hoon is another personal favourite, it is also available with fish head at the same price. The thick bee hoon was nicely cooked to give the desired texture. It was served with a few thick slices of fresh tasting fish meat and veggie.

Their Prawn Paste Chicken was amongst one of the better tasted. It was perfectly deep fried and it still tasted crispy even left it for a bit. The chicken wings were perfectly marinated to give it the right flavor.

HONG KONG STREET CHUN KEE

Block 151 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 Singapore 560154

This is the other Hong Kong Street Chun Kee that moved away.

First impression was their service is not as attentive. We ordered the same dish in order to do a compairson.

Though at the same price, the portion was much lesser and slightly greasy. The texture of horfun was not as fragrant.

The Fish Meat Bee Hoon was of equally disappointing. It tasted really bland and the thick bee hoon was of overly soft broken pieces though the fish tasted rather fresh.

It was equally nice for their Prawn Paste Chicken but i still prefer the other one a little more.

HONG KONG STREET CHUN KEE

Block 158 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 SINGAPORE 560158

CONCLUSION: Though the Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at Block 158 Ang Mo Kio is the original stall in this area but their standard did not match up to the other one at Block 151 Ang Mo Kio. Apparently, some of their old customers would still go to them as i suspect they might not get to taste the other one for a comparison. Such a drop in standard is likely due to complacence as they has been in this area for quite a long while and being the other outlet beside the main branch operated by the founder in Bukit Merah with his blessing. The battle is on and let's see which is the ultimate winner.